After interviewing me and others, NYTimes health columnist Jane Brody wrote “I now fully understand that a successful life is…a life that rolls with the punches, adapts to changing circumstances, and makes the best of the here and now.” Exactly.
In When Life Throws You Curveballs, Embrace the “New Normal” Brody writes:
In a column she wrote for Oncology Times, Dr. Harpham suggested that patients aim to create “a new normal for now” to help them deal with unwanted changes in healthy and hopeful ways. That means establishing routines that enable them to get through the day, tailoring their expectations in ways that minimize anxiety and unpleasant surprises.”
…As Dr. Harpham described adapting to her own very disruptive life challenge, “Cancer had splashed ugly streaks across the canvas of my life. It was up to me to fill in the rest. The idea of a ‘new normal’ motivated me to find the best ways to deal with unwanted changes.”
Brody concludes with “I must try harder to put Dr. Harpham’s advice into practice: ‘Create your best new normal for now, with hope of making life the best it can be today, tomorrow and every day.’ I’ve already adopted a few small yet uplifting gestures. I try at least once a day to do a good deed and say something nice to an acquaintance or total stranger. And I say hello and smile at all the children I meet at the Y or on the street while walking my dog.”
Sometimes the little things are really big things. Thanks for sharing the message of hope, Jane Brody.
Gracia Lam (NYTimes)
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